Railway track lubricating device



April 4, 1939. w. F. HUcK A RAILWAY TRACK LUBRICATING DEVICE Filed Feb. 2, 1957 n Y of) Patented Apr. 4, 1939 RAILWAY TRACK LUBRICATING' DEVICE William F. Huck, Richmond Hill, N. Y. Application February 2, 1937, Serial No. 123,567

5 Claims.

This invention relates to railway track lubrication, having for its principal object the provision of a device of the kind indicated, particularly designed and adapted to minimize the pounding action of swiftly moving railway vehicle wheels operatively engaging the mechanism, thereby insuring a uniform dependable action of the parts subjected to the thrusts of the successive car wheels, an economical yet positive disposition of lubricant to the desired portions of the rail head, and a long life to the operating parts of the device.

Another object is to provide a device for lubricating the inner side of the rail head at or in the vicinity of a curve, with novel, shock absorbing means to insure the ejection of a predetermined amount of lubricant against the rail head while safeguarding the device against undue wear and breakage during the operating periods.

A further object is to provide in a device of the character indicated, a lubricant reservoir so constructed and arranged that superfluous lubricant will run down along the rail head and drain back into the reservoir with a view to economizing the lubricant supply.

An additional object of the invention is to provide a device of the kind indicated, characterized by a plurality of units acting independently of each other and normally adapted to be operated in sequence; all of the said units being housed within a protecting casing which latter also serves as an oil reservoir.

It is also an object of the invention to provide a railway track lubricator of generally improved construction, whereby the device will be simple, durable and inexpensive in construction, as well as convenient, practical, serviceable and eicient in its use.

With the foregoing and other objects in view, which will appear as the description proceeds, the invention resides in the combination and arrangement of parts, and in the details of construction hereinafter described and claimed, it being understood that various changes in the precise embodiment of the invention herein disclosed may be made within the scope of what is claimed without departing from the spirit of the invention.

Heretofore, devices designed for the automatic lubrication of railway tracks and for the flanges of vehicle wheels passing over same, required frequent repair and replacement, due to excessive wear and actual breakage as a consequence of the severe battering to which they were subjected by the impact of the wheel anges of the railway cars moving at high speed. As a consequence, such devices often failed to provide lubrication over comparatively long periods of time during which they were supposed to be functioning.

In accordance with the present invention, lubricant is applied only to the inner side of the rail head and not directly to the wheel flanges where it would be flung 01T by centrifugal action. Furthermore, as will appear hereinafter, while the mechanism is particularly designed to function eiiiciently under the impact of rapidly moving railway vehicle wheels, novel shock-absorbing means in the form of preloaded, double-acting self-dampening springs are provided, permit- 15" ting the lubricant-dispensing parts to yield as a unit, should, for example, the lubricant fail to issue from the nozzle at a rate suiiiciently fast to relieve any excessive pressure developed by violent wheel thrusts. In prior mechanisms designed for track and/or wheel lubrication, this lack of provision for minimizing the battering, shock-actuation of the lubricant-ejecting parts, contributed in large measure, to their comparatively early break-down.

The invention will be best understood by reference to the drawing wherein:

Figure l is a plan view of an embodiment of the invention operatively applied to a railway track;

Fig. 2 is a longitudinal sectional view, taken on the line and as viewed in the direction of the arrows 2 2 of Figure 1;

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary, sectional detail view showing the means employed for securing the upper and lower members of the floating lubricant pump to the corresponding upper and lower spring units;

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary, sectional detail view, taken on the line and as viewed in the direction of the arrows 4 4 of Fig. 3; and

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary, sectional detail view, partly in elevation, taken on the line and as seen in the direction of the arrows 5 5 of Fig. l.

Referring now to the drawing wherein similar 4,

characters of reference indicate corresponding parts in the several views, Il designates a rail to which a lubricant reservoir or container I2 filled with suitable lubricant to any convenient height, is clampin-Uly secured by means hereinafter described. The container l2 is somewhat reduced in height at one end and shaped to seat within the recess formed by the lateral projection of the rail head I3 and the base flange iii of the rail on the inner side of the rail track. The reduced end of the container is designed and positioned, in coacting relation with adjacent operating parts 'of the device, to receive superfluous lubricant from the rail head i3, as will appear hereinafter.

The body portion of the container l2 seats on a bracket i5 extending underneath the base flange IB of the rail il, and having its outer end folded upon itself, as at i6, to provide a recess wherein an outer portion of the said base flange is clampingly received. rlhe inner end of the bracket l5 is formed with an upwardly extending flange or lug I l, having a threaded aperture receiving a screw i8, the end of which is normally pressed against a plate i9 fastened to or forming a part of the rear end of the container. By turning the screw i8, the container may be clamped to the rail with a variable pressure or quickly released therefrom, when desired. Y

At the rear portion of and within the con tainer i2, a series of blocks 2B are fastened by screws 2i, and to the top and bottom of each of the said series of blocks, a pair of preloaded or pretensioned spring units 22 and 23 are secured by screw bolts 2G and 25.

Each spring unit consists of a plurality of leaves arranged in overlapping relation within the container i2, which latter also serves as a protecting house for the spring units mentioned above. The several pairsof spring units and the blocks to which they are attached, are segregated in individual compartments formed by partition plates l2', whereby possible interference of the spring units, one with anothen, during operation, is prevented.

The spring unit 22 has its outer end extended to a point adjacent the rail head I3, where it is arrangedY to be engaged by the passing wheel anges of railway vehicles. A rod 22 secured at its ends to the side wallsof the container i2, and passing through the series of partition plates i2', is arranged to press downwardly and thus preload or pretension the upper spring unit 22, for a purpose which will appear hereinafter. A hardened guard plate or anvil member 26 is detachably secured in any suitable manner, as by the screws 25. to the extremity of the longest leaf of the spring unit 22, and thereby serves to prevent undue wear to the surface of the latter at the contact point of the wheels.

Clamped between the anvil member 26 and the adjacent upper surface of the last-mentioned leaf spring, is a strip of any suitable material, such as felt 2li, the outer end of which latter, as best shown in Fig. 3, is adapted to wipingly engage the inner side of the rail head i3 and thereby uniformly distribute the lubricant thereover, While returning superfluous lubricant to the container.

To the under surface of each upper spring unit 22 adjacent the end at which the guard plate or anvil member is arranged, a substantially U-shaped bracket 2S is secured by means of the screws l', which latter, it is to be understood, are passed through registering openings (not shown) provided in the anvil member, felt, leaf spring and bracket 28. The bracket 28 accommodates the bent, upper nozzle portion 33 of a tube 3i forming a part of an oil-pumping unit described hereinafter. YIn the bore of the tube 3l, a sleeve 32 is fixed, the said sleeve having a ball 33 freely supported thereon and normally closing the passageway of the sleeve and the registering bore of thetube 3l until the said ball 33 is temporarily raised by lubricant forced upward by the action of the pumping unit, when engaged by passing vehicle wheels, as hereinafter described.

Coactingly arranged within the inner periphery of the tube 3l, a hollow plunger 3d is slidably mounted, the bore of the plunger being normally closed at the top by a ball 35 freely supported thereon and restrained in its movement, when iinpelled from its seat on the plunger, by the upward rush of lubricant during operation, by a short rod 36 arranged transversely across the upper extremity of the hollow plunger 34.

The plunger 3d, which has a port or opening 3l communicating with the supply of lubricant in the container i2, is circumferentially'grooved, as at 33 at its closed lower end in order to provide a reduced portion having a head or stud 39, the reduced portion being received in a slot or notched portion formed in the longest leaf of the lower spring unit 23. A resilient strap lil secured at 42 to the lower spring unit and having a flanged opening i3 accommodating the head 39, serves to conveniently lock or permit the quick detachment of the plunger 3d, when desired. The tube 3i and coacting plunger 3d, with their inclosed and attached elements, form, as will be seen hereinaftena floating oil pump supported on preloaded, self-dampening spring units.

Each of the lower spring units 23, in a manner somewhat similar to that described above in connection with the upper spring unit 22, is preloaded; i. e., maintained under some degree of tension by a lug 4d fastened to an adjacent partition plate i2', with a view to a quick dampenlng of their vibratory movement after contact cf the upper spring unit 22 by the wheels of railway vehicles, this quick dampening being enhanced by the comparatively small inertia of the spring units and the coacting lubricant-dispensing parts. The rod 22' and the lugs All, in addition to their normal function, serve as pretensioning means, and act as stops to limit the throw of their respective spring units 22 and 23, after actuation of the latter.

The body portion of the container l2 is also provided with a lid or cover 35, detachably secured in any convenient manner, as by the screws d6. While the lid eectively shields the major portion of the reservoir and its contents, the reduced portion is adequately protected by the upper, overlapping series of spring units 22 and the strip material 2l, so that the entire unit is substantially weather-proof, particular provision being made for the disposal of any water getting into the container, as described hereinafter.

A combination drain, overiiow and filler pipe flnormally closed at the top by a cap 13, is arranged adjacent to and exteriorly of the container i2. The pipe di', which has an overflow pipe or outlet i9 adapted to maintain an even c-r predetermined head of lubricant in the reservoir, communicated with a connecting section of pipe 5i) secured to an outlet pipe 5l at the bottom of comparatively small quantity of oil in the latter, will thereafter flow out of the overflow pipe 49 without further loss of oil. The pipe assembly 41 in combination with the container, forms one of the important features of the instant invention, since, regardless of the amount of water finding its way into the container, the overlow device described above will automatically dispose of same while maintaining the normal head of oil in the container I2.

The function and operation of the device, which has been in part indicated above, may be summarized as follows:

Assuming the container l2 is lled with lubricant to the height indicated in Figure 2, the said lubricant will enter the channel or port 31 in the sleeve or plunger 34 and rise in the latter to the level of the liquid in the container, the ball 35 and its seat on the top of the plunger 34, constituting a ball check valve, will allow air and liquid to pass through the bore of the plunger, but will prevent the return of same, as will be readily understood. The flange of the rst vehicle wheel engaging the guard plate 26, will thrust downward the end of the spring unit 22 and consequently the attached tube 3| with its nozzle, thereby causing relative movement between the hollow plunger 34 and the tube 3|, the rst effect of which will be to expel the air in the tube 3| through the nozzle 30. 'I'he expelled air, after passing through the nozzle and lifting the ball 33, will be replaced by lubricant from the container I2 via the opening 31 and the bore of the plunger 34, the ball 35 in the latter being thereby temporarily raised. The lubricant thereafter will be expelled from the nozzle against the inner side of the rail head I3 and be evenly distributed thereagainst by the wiping action of the flexible strip material 21. Excess lubricant at the same time, as pointed out above, will be returned to the reservoir.

It will be observed that the upper and lower ball check valves, in conjunction with the hollow tube 3| and the plunger 34, serve as a double acting, self-dampening, floating pump arrangement. Should the thrust communicated by a car Wheel be too violent to permit the full or adequate ejection of the lubricant, the lower and somewhat more or less stiffer spring unit 23 will yield so that the tube 3| with its nozzle 30 and the plunger 34, will move downwardly together. Each container assembly, with its series of independently-actuated, oating pumps, may be regarded as an operative unit, and as many of these lastmentioned units, as will be desired or necessary, will be applied at the vicinity of a curve.

It is to be understood that the invention may be embodied in other specific forms without departing from the spirit or essential attributes thereof, and it is therefore desired that the present embodiment be considered in all respects as illustrative and not restrictive, reference being had to the appended claims rather than to the foregoing description to indicate the scope of the invention; and it will be further understood that each and every novel feature and combination present in or possessed by the mechanism herewith disclosed, forms a part of the invention included in this application.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. In a device of the character described, a lubricant container securable to a rail, a lubricant-distributing nozzle member resiliently connected to said container, and a plunger resiliently connected to the container and adapted to move independently of the nozzle member under certain operating conditions and synchronously with the nozzle member under certain other operating conditions.

2. In a device of the character described, a lubricant container, a series of lubricant-dispensing nozzle means, a corresponding series of shock-absorbing means oatingly supporting the lubricant-dispensing means on the container, a series of plungers movable in and coactable with said nozzle means, a second series of shock-absorbing means floatingly supporting the plungers on the container, and partitions in the container, said partitions segregating one series of said shock-absorbing means and parts carried thereby from the other series of shock-absorbing means and parts associated therewith whereby the nozzle means and plunger may move independently of each other under normal operating conditions, and move as a unit when the said operating conditions communicate comparatively violent movement to the nozzle means and the plunger.

3. In a device of the character described, a lubricant container, a nozzle member resiliently mounted on said container and adapted to convey lubricant from the container against a rail head, and a plunger coactable with said nozzle member and resiliently connected to said container, said plunger normally permitting reciprocating movement of the nozzle member but adapted to yield when lubricant fails to issue from the nozzle member under sudden pressure.

4. In a device of the character described, a lubricant container, lubricant ejecting nozzle means, shock-absorbing means oatingly supporting the lubricant ejecting means on the container, a plunger coactable with said nozzle means, and other shock-absorbing means floatingly supporting the plunger on the container, whereby the nozzle means and plunger may move independently of each other under normal operating conditions and move as a unit when the actuating force exceeds a predetermined value.

5. A device of the character described comprising a plurality of independent units, each of said units being securable to a common rail and comprising in combination, a lubricant container, a nozzle member floatingly supported on the container, a. plunger coactable with the nozzle member and floatingly supported on the container; whereby under normal operating conditions the nozzle member and plunger may move independently of each other and also move as a unit when violently actuated.

WILLIAM F. HUCK. 

